Before The Flood’s Gift

December is finally here. The month for gifts for children, and reflections on the year for older people. For me it will be a mix of both, gifts because I have received a lot this year (Who said it has to be during Christmas?) and of reflection because I have followed unconditionally the things that matter to me this year than ever before which has led me to Michigan State University and the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE) program. Therefore, my gift and a piece to reflect upon for people would be the National Geographic documentary featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Before The Flood.

I advise this movie to whomever cares about the Earth (which should be every human being) and want to make small changes at a personal level for the greater good of the planet. The thing I like the most about the movie is that they present most of the information to the public- not from a standing point of changing mindset – but to share research results and facts. Consequently, individuals are led to their own judgment of the reality about climate change. Moreover, the movie is very solution-oriented which helps to give hope and incentive to environmentalists that change will always be possible.

As I was watching this movie, I realized that the small changes that I was observing on my city’s climate in Cote d’Ivoire were also happening everywhere else around the globe. So, this movie gave me a widened view of climate change. It taught me about the politicization of the environmental issues which is the biggest threat to increasing awareness and implementation of green solutions among people and government worldwide.

Then some people may ask: should we watch such a burning topic during a time of celebration and wrapping up of the year? To that I would say it is not the best idea. However, as this is also the period of the year where new year’s resolutions are written, it might be covenant to watch it and draw some of our resolutions around living greenly and being more environmentally conscious throughout next year.

On that note, I wish everyone a good December with this gift of mine and a good preparation to enter into a new year.